i decided to check out admissions consultants late in the game for R1 - around the end of september. i really didn't think i would ever get a consultant since they're so expensive, but i was starting to panic with my essays as i was hitting a wall with them.

i contacted a few of the 1 person consultants, but they turned me down because it was so close to R1 deadlines, which definitely worried me. i got a free consultation from stacy blackman, which went ok. she gave me some good tips but i decided not to go with her cause i didn't really feel like we connected and i was a little worried about all the negative reviews of them online. also, i was really only looking for essay help. most consulting companies offer essay services "a la carte" which mainly entails spending an hour on the phone talking about 1 or 2 essays. i wanted to see the edits on paper and didn't want to pay someone by the hour.

once i realized that, i started to focus my search on essay editing companies (and with quick turnaround). most of these companies (including the services that SB offers) only edit for grammar while i wanted someone to edit my content and flow. i received a free essay edit from Admissionado (formerly Precision Essay) and found it very well done and even entertaining. i decided that night that i would get their services (based on their packages and turnaround). i ultimately got edits for 3 schools (2 edits for stanford and berkeley, 1 for kellogg), but used those essays for the other schools i applied to as well.

i found Admissionado to be really helpful and extremely fast in getting back my essays. having a consultant also gave me mini-deadlines which helped a lot. i got A LOT done in a very short time period. i had gone through so many revisions with friends and family (but none with bschool experience) with my essays before getting a consultant, but i ended up changing some of them drastically afterwards. Admissionado really knew how to help me structure my essays, how to better clarify and emphasize aspects, and how to focus them. also, they were always available to answer my questions. my essays really would not have reached the level they did without that help. well maybe if i had time to thoroughly go through those MBA application books, they would have, but i didn't start applying until late in the game.

in summary, if you're only looking for essay help on your apps and want to see your edits on paper and delivered quickly back to you, i would look into Admissionado (ask for a free essay edit or read their thread in the admissions consultants thread). their prices, although high, are worth it because you pay by the school and not by the word count or hour. i personally only really knew 1 person who was familiar with the business school process, so working with a consultant really helped me. as you can see by my profile, i got into 3 of the 6 schools i applied to round 1, including kellogg, one of my top choices and where i'll be going in the fall.

feel free to PM me with more info. i looked into several consulting companies before i settled on Admissionado, everyone from the big companies to the small, cheaper essay editing services.

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I shopped around quite a bit and used Admissionado (formerly Precision Essay). I only applied to top 16 schools, and two admits later and one waitlist (including a full ride to Haas) I can vouch for Jon and his team 100%. I did start with ample time to work together and I think this definitely makes a difference - if you are rushing to finish when everybody else is crunching then the result is obvious no matter where you go. In the end, I did end up in a time crunch situation for a few schools, but the response time was amazing - a few times I chatted with Jon at 4AM in the heat of the app season, while stressing out about something in my application. I also talked to him on the phone when he was travelling overseas in china at some crazy local time.
The service isn't for everyone--they make you work HARD to bring out your story and your voice - there were times where I was thinking OH COME ON GUYS, another edit, wasn't that last one good enough? It's one of those processes where you get out what you put in it - no consultant can (nor should they) do all your writing and have a pre-packaged story ready for you. By the way, I haven't heard of half the consultants who post here--new ones seem to pop up every day. The only way to really tell what consultant is right for you is their track record, and to reach out to them and speak to them personally, get a sense of their response times, and see if you match with them personality wise. To me what set them apart was personalized responses that were specific to me, not some cookie cutter "your profile looks good, but theres areas we have to work on" generic email. Feel free to pm me or talk to the guys directly. If you do talk to Jon and his crew at Admissionado, I am sure you'll see how amazing they are.

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